UK galleries lining up for the latest Art Fair

by David Whetstone, The Journal

Organisers of the NewcastleGateshead Art Fair are determined to make it a nationally recognised event. David Whetstone reports.

TWENTY five galleries from around the country have already signed up to be represented at the second NewcastleGateshead Art Fair. The inaugural event took place last year in a marquee between The Sage Gateshead and Baltic.

The aim was to boost the reputation of the region as a centre for the visual arts and to encourage people to buy the work of talented artists.

Commercial art fairs have become established in other parts of the country, such as London and Glasgow, and the organisers felt the time was right to establish an event which would attract some of the country’s leading galleries to this region.

This year’s event, sponsored by HSBC, is to take place in The Sage Gateshead itself from September 11-14.

It is the brainchild of Andy Balman, who previously ran the Biscuit Factory commercial art gallery in Newcastle, and Vincent Woods who established event management company Benchmark Communications.

Andy left the Biscuit Factory so he could spend more time developing NewcastleGateshead Art Fair into a nationally and internationally recognised event.

The organisers view the move into Sir Norman Foster’s landmark music centre as a major coup for the event.

An innovation this year is a series of talks on buying art and building a collection which will be held in conjunction with Baltic, next door to The Sage Gateshead.

Another new attraction is an emerging artist section which will feature work from up to 15 artists from the region who are not yet represented by galleries.

The artists and work will be chosen by a distinguished panel including: Alastair Robinson from the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art in Sunderland; Godfrey Worsdale, director of mima, Middlesbrough; Paul Stone from Tyneside’s Vane Gallery; Julie Milne, director of the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle; and Anna Wilkinson who runs Northern Print, based in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle.

Northern Print will also hold demonstrations and workshops throughout the weekend while displaying prints by established artists.

There was positive feedback from around the NorthEast last year, encouraging the organisers to mount a repeat.

Jane Robinson, assistant chief executive of Gateshead Council, said: “The inaugural year of the NewcastleGateshead Art Fair proved a huge success, attracting thousands of visitors to Gateshead Quays.

“It is thanks to events such as this that the international profile of NewcastleGateshead as a destination for world-class art and culture continues to grow.”

Paul Rubinstein, Jane’s opposite number on Newcastle City Council, said: “The 2007 event seemed to be a real success and I’m sure an Art Fair on Tyneside will grow and grow as the market develops.”

Among those galleries which have already signed up to the Art Fair is the Bianco Nero Gallery from Stokesley, North Yorkshire, which shows a wide range of contemporary fine art in solo and group shows.

Its exhibitions showcase work by local and nationally acclaimed artists in a variety of media including paintings, prints, drawings, glass, ceramics and sculpture.

Artists whose work it will feature at the NewcastleGateshead Art Fair include Elda Abramson, Paul Bassingthwaighte, Andrew Cheetham, Christina Mingard, Anja Percival, Richard Spare and Jim Wright.

Details of all the other galleries which havesigned up can be found on www.ngartfair.com, which also has information about Art Fair opening times and new developments.

We will feature some of the galleries heading for NewcastleGateshead Art Fair on these pages in the coming weeks.